On Sunday, La Trobe University held its most successful Open Day ever, with more than 19,000 visitors. But the day was disrupted by student protests against recently announced changes to our Faculty of…
Despite online courses available for free, university students still want the experience of bricks and mortar campuses.
University campus image from www.shutterstock.com
MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, are gaining a lot of attention. Some commentators believe that these free internet-delivered courses are the future of university education. Others meanwhile argue…
The pressure on academics is becoming too much, there needs to be cultural change.
Stressed image from www.shutterstock.com
The pressure is on. More and more universities and academics are working in a culture that is untenable and cracks in the ivory tower have already begun to appear. The work environment is now characterised…
By deliberately making false historical sources, students can learn to think more critically.
Historical hoax image www.shutterstock.com
What happens when you teach students how to lie? Answer: they become better historians. More than a decade ago, back in the days of Web 0.5, a student of mine submitted a generally well-written essay on…
The rise of open online courses will affect almost every part of higher education, including the international student market in Australia.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Mass Open Online Courseware (MOOCs) is less than a year old but it is already clear this will be the game changer in higher education worldwide. Right now it is reverberating through Australian universities…
According to new rankings, Australia now has more elite universities.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
More Australian universities are now in the top 100 ranked universities in the world, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities released today. Five Australian universities – University of…
Reading the same book can bring students closer together as a group.
Students reading image from www.shutterstock.com
First-year undergraduate students at the University of Melbourne have been invited to participate in a new initiative. “Melbourne Summer Reading” identifies a book which speaks to some of the big issues…
Asking what higher education students should pay is a deceptively straightforward question.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
The Grattan Institute’s most recent report Graduate Winners by Andrew Norton has generated valuable debate about what financial subsidy government should provide for university students. But before adjusting…
Education minister Peter Garrett along with his state counterparts have agreed upon some pretty big changes to teacher development.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Finally, perhaps the time has come. The Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders and the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework, both signed off…
Should the government subsidise university places when graduates gain so much from a tertiary education?
Flickr/pamhule
After releasing my report, Graduate Winners: Assessing the public and private benefits of higher education, the question I have most been asked is: if university fees go up, will students still come? It’s…
Police struggle with students as they try to break into the British Conservative Party Headquarters in London during a demonstration against raising of caps on student tuition fees in 2010.
AAP
Today’s proposal by the Grattan Institute for higher education students to pay more will be viewed by many as unfair and unreasonable, says Australian National University Professor Bruce Chapman. “No one…
Art history is falling out of favour with universities but why? We need to look at the reasons behind this change.
AAP Image/Warren Clarke
The impending closure of art history at La Trobe University has drawn sharp criticism from academics. They have pointed out that students enjoy art history: it is economical, has enduring value and demonstrably…
The NSW government has made some strong first steps to talk about teaching standards but there’s no policy blueprint yet.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli’s discussion paper on teacher education, Great Teaching, Inspired Learning released earlier this week, could be seen as yet another review for a profession literally…
Avoid the hype – we need to take a realistic look at the changes ahead in higher education.
Flickr/Stanford EdTech
My childhood was influenced in some measure by two great icons that no longer exist. The first was Kodak – I adored my [Box Brownie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(camera) and I still have the wonderful…
The government is trying to entice more young people to go to university – but can they do it?
AAP Image/Julian Smith
In 1973, the Whitlam Labor government abolished university tuition fees. In 1987, the Hawke Government radically created thousands of extra university places by creating a national system, financing it…
Universities such as Yale need to respect the human rights of their staff and students.
Flickr/Snap Man
Yale university’s decision to set up a liberal arts college at the National University of Singapore (NUS) while accepting Singapore’s restrictions on students’ rights to free speech and freedom of association…
Cutting the art history department at La Trobe university is short-sighted.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
La Trobe university’s art history department is set to be abolished, with a consultation period over the changes to the university’s humanities program to end this month. While one art history department…
Universities sell more than just lectures and lessons.
Flickr/Butler University
When some of the world’s most prestigious universities – including Harvard and MIT in their edX venture or Stanford and Princeton through Coursera – start putting courses online for free, it tells you…
Shadow education minister Christopher Pyne’s latest statements on teacher training are counterproductive.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Opposition Education spokesman Christopher Pyne’s comments to the Sydney Institute this week provoked a new debate on teacher training. Most of the educational community would agree, and have for at least…
Paying for expensive textbooks could be a thing of the past for university students.
Flickr/Abstract Machine
In the same way that free open online courseware is threatening to disrupt traditional universities, open textbook initiatives such as OpenStax College from Rice University threaten to do the same to the…